New Delhi, May 27 -- The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has begun constructing a 750-metre-long open stormwater drain to connect the frequently waterlogged Narsinghpur area on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway (NH-48) to the Badshahpur drain, officials said on Monday. The project is expected to be completed within 10 days. Deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar, who inspected the site, directed officials to expedite the work and confirmed that the drain will be covered after the onset of the monsoon. "This is a major breakthrough in our efforts to mitigate urban flooding. The open drain will directly connect Narsinghpur's waterlogged patches to the Badshahpur drain, ensuring faster and more effective discharge of rainwater," Kumar said. The open drain replaces an earlier temporary system where water was pumped through pipes to the Badshahpur drain near Hero Honda Chowk. Officials said the new drain will help prevent waterlogging on both the carriageway and service lanes of NH-48, especially near Narsinghpur. Prior to the start of construction, encroachments were removed from a six-metre-wide stretch of land. The land, partly owned by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), was acquired after weeks of negotiation. "We had to identify an alternative path for drainage due to an ongoing legal dispute. After several rounds of talks with landowners and HSIIDC, a consensus was finally reached last Friday," Kumar said. In a high-level meeting chaired by Kumar on Friday, a private landowner agreed to allow the construction of the drain adjacent to their property. Simultaneously, the administration appointed a duty magistrate to oversee the removal of any remaining encroachments from HSIIDC land. GMDA officials said the drain would ease pressure on existing pumping infrastructure during the monsoon. "This is a long-term solution. Once connected to the Badshahpur drain, the system will facilitate seamless drainage and drastically reduce the risk of road submergence," a drainage division engineer said. Vikram Singh, executive engineer, GMDA, added: "The drain will provide a long-term solution for resolving waterlogging concerns on this key stretch along the National Highway." Residents and environmentalists have long flagged persistent flooding in Narsinghpur and Hero Honda Chowk, which sees major traffic disruptions during storms. The new drain is expected to help mitigate these issues significantly. On Monday, GMDA also conducted a demolition drive in Narsinghpur and Mohamedpur villages along the Expressway to clear the way for construction. Earlier this month, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairman Santosh Yadav had urged the Haryana government to address waterlogging issues at Narsinghpur, officials said. A GMDA spokesperson said that GMDA CEO Shyamal Mishra visited the site to oversee the demolition work. Haryana chief secretary Anurag Rastogi also chaired a meeting on Monday evening with GMDA and other stakeholders to discuss the ongoing efforts to address waterlogging in the area....